Shadows of Love
by eveningstar1996
Summary: The sequel to Love That Lasts Forever. What happens to Princess Rose and Prince Dimitri after the end of Love That Lasts Forever? Will they ultimately end up together, or will outside forces pull them apart again?
1. Concerns

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

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Ch. 1 Concerns

We decided to wait until sunrise to leave the pavilion where I'd literally been laid to rest.

"I don't know what's going to be in store for us, Dimitri," I said to him as we watched the horizon. It was still night, but the moon was slowly moving across the sky and the stars weren't quite as bright.

"I know," he agreed solemnly, taking my hand. "My uncle will try to use my marriage to you as an excuse to become the Belikov prince himself."

"Father will probably have your head for marrying me," I murmured, half to myself and half to him.

Dimitri smiled dryly. "As much as your father would like to have my head, I'm sure he won't kill me. Yet. Even murdering a royal would be beyond something Abe Mazur could get away."

Suddenly I remembered something and wilted into Dimitri's arms. "Oh, God. I almost forgot. The Queen's order! She ordered that you be turned over to her justice for your attack on my 'fiancé.'"

His face clouded. "That means anyone who sees me – even guardians or commoners – could turn me over to her immediately."

I nodded. "She'd probably have you imprisoned or executed."

He sighed, and laid his head in my lap. "Is there any way you or your father could issue a writ of pardon?"

Dimitri was referring to a certain power the prince or princess of a royal house had. They could choose to issue a pardon to someone accused of committing a crime as long it wasn't a particular heinous crime (such as a murder). However, I wasn't sure if that extended to someone wanted by the Queen, and I said as much.

"Besides, even though I'm my father's heiress and the Mazur princess, I would need his approval for any pardons I issue," I said with a shake of my head. "You can say he's still the real power behind me." _Wonder when I can actually make decisions on my own, since I'm supposed to have the Council seat..._

Dimitri was quiet for a very long moment before he sat up and asked, "Have you ever thought of having children?"

I immediately guessed what must be on his mind. "Are you worried about our dhampir infertility?"

Most dhampirs are produced from dhampirs and Moroi having sex, even though the first dhampirs came from Moroi and humans. Dhampirs trying to reproduce with each other was virtually impossible. However, there have been a few very rare exceptions – none from this century – where dhampirs were able to reproduce with each other and have dhampir babies.

My father, Abe Mazur, is a Moroi, and my mother, Janine Hathaway Mazur, is a dhampir. To ensure that the Mazur bloodline would continue to live on, since I was the only child – and a girl, at that – they had been arranging betrothals for me ever since I had turned ten. My firstborn child with any husband I married would be a Mazur, while any other children I had after them would carry my husband's last name.

Few Moroi royals have chosen to reproduce with dhampirs because they like to keep their bloodlines pure. As a result, there are only four dhampir royal families – the Mazurs and Belikovs included – compared to the twelve Moroi "pure" families. And our families have only become dhampir royal families very recently (and by very recent, I mean within the fifty years).

"I'm a bit worried," Dimitri said, sounding plenty worried. "You're the only child of the Mazur family. Your family wanted you to have plenty of children, which is why they betrothed you to Adrian Ivashkov. At least I have several sisters who could carry on the Belikov line. But you'll never have children-"

I placed my finger over his lips to quiet him. "I'm not too worried about that. If necessary, we'll adopt children and make them princes and princesses." Of course, my father would throw a fit.

"As if your father would approve!" he said, as though he could read my mind.

"We can't worry about having children right now. We have to worry about showing that I'm still alive, not getting you killed by my family guardians on sight, and explaining that we're already married," I pointed out. "Speaking of the last thing…how do we prove that we're married? And that we already consummated our marriage?"

Dimitri sighed. "Well, I have our wedding certificate. Friar James can back us up on that. As for the consummation…I'm afraid they'll have to take us at our word on that."

I shivered all over, and leaned my head on his shoulder. "Maybe we shouldn't worry about that right now. Let's just appreciate the quiet time we have a while longer."

* * *

When there were a few streaks of color over the horizon, I sighed. "I suppose it's time…"

Dimitri rose very gracefully to his feet before holding his hand out to me. I put my hand in his and he pulled me up.

"I imagine your whole family will be shocked by you coming back from the dead," he said dryly as we climbed down the steps of the pavilion and exited the cemetery.

"Yes. Everyone but Lissa," I said, thinking of my best friend. She'd been the only one I'd told, and I was grateful that she had supported me.

Dimitri smiled down at me as we started the trek back to the Mazur household. "How exactly did you meet?"

"We were about five at the time, and learning to read and write at this fancy academy. The teacher was trying to make us spell our names. My name is a little bit long– Rosemarie Mazur. I grew so frustrated of trying to spell it that I just threw my chalkboard at the teacher and called her a bloody asshole. At the time I had no idea what that meant – I'd just overheard that from an ambassador. Lissa couldn't stop laughing, and from that moment on, we were best friends," I recounted.

We fell silent as we continued to walk. I was already mentally cursing why the cemetery was so far from my family home. Had it been this long to carry my body from home to the cemetery? Not that I'd really know, since I'd been unconscious…

Finally, the gates of my home loomed before us. I looked to Dimitri and whispered, "Stay behind me." I was hoping that the guardians – or my father – wouldn't kill Dimitri on sight if he was behind me.

He nodded and followed me. Two guardians were on duty at the gates. I didn't recognize either of them. I stepped in front of them.

Then both of them straightened up immediately, their eyes going wide. "You…. what on…."

"It is I, Princess Rosemarie Mazur," I said in a clear voice. "Let me in."

"You're supposed to be dead!" one blurted out, his eyes wide.

I tried to raise an eyebrow at him, but failed. "And I'm clearly in front of you now. Let me into my home."

"We must alert Lord Mazur at once," the other muttered, sounding absolutely flabbergasted at my appearance. Honestly I was surprised that they weren't finding charms to repel ghosts.

"Please do," I said dryly as he turned and raced up the pathway leading to the manor.

The guardian left looked behind me and his eyes widened. "Is that Prince Belikov? But he's…he's wanted for attacking your fiancé! And why are you with the Mazur princess?" he asked, his voice turning menacing as he stepped towards Dimitri.

"Let him through with me," I said sternly. "There are important matters at hand here. And I suggest you don't alert the Queen of the Belikov prince's presence here. Especially if you value your life."

The guardian gulped, looking terrified. I wouldn't actually kill him – unless giving him a good beating counted – but I hoped that he would listen to a princess's orders. "Yes, Your Highness."

The other guardian returned, looking wide awake now. "Lord Mazur is now in the audience chamber, Your Highness."

"Thank you," I said, strolling past, Dimitri warily following me. I was sure that if it weren't for my shocking reappearance and my orders, the guardians would've hauled Dimitri before Father and had him sent to Queen Tatiana.

The whole walk into the manor was silent, but once we were inside the foyer and close to the doors leading into the audience chamber, I turned to Dimitri. "Be brave," I breathed into his ear.

"I will be, as long as you're here," he murmured back.

We linked hands and I took a deep breath. I was so scared, despite asking him to be brave. If something went wrong, if Dimitri was somehow killed… I forced myself to banish those thoughts from my mind.

The double doors swung open, and we walked in together.

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**Author's note**: The sequel to Love That Lasts Forever, per many reviewers' request. Sorry it's so late, but hope you all enjoy it! Think of it as a New Years' gift ;D Read and review. The title kinda sucks, so if you have any suggestions for a better title feel free to suggest some :D


	2. The Mazurs

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

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Ch. 2 The Mazurs

Dimitri POV

I cautiously followed behind my Roza as we entered the audience chamber.

Lord Abe Mazur was seated on a simple throne, with Lady Janine Hathaway at his side. Their eyes widened in shock as Rose approached them. It was like they had seen a ghost.

There was a squeal and I watched as a tall blonde girl ran to Rose and threw her arms enthusiastically around her. "You're back!"

Rose laughed and hugged her back tightly. "Of course. Nothing could keep me dead."

Vasilisa Dragomir flashed a smile in my direction before letting go of Rose. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of explaining to do."

Rose then turned towards her parents and curtsied. "Milord, milady."

Janine was the first to move. Her eyes - so similar to Roza's - widened as she rose from her throne. "Rosemarie? Is that…is that really you?"

"Yes, mother," Rose answered, rising from her curtsy. "I'm no ghost. It's really me."

With that, Janine ran down the dais and wrapped Rose in a tight embrace. "My baby," she sobbed, before adding a few muffled words I couldn't quite hear.

I was astonished to see that Rose was crying too, and was touched by the tender daughter-mother moment.

Abe Mazur finally recovered from his shock and walked down the dais to embrace Janine and Rose. "How…how is this possible? I thought you…"

Whatever else he might've said trailed off when he suddenly caught sight of me. "Belikov? What the hell are you doing in my house?" he demanded, breaking away from the embrace and advancing on me. I suddenly wanted to run but kept my emotions off my face. "Guards! Guards!" he suddenly bellowed. "Take Belikov in chains and haul him before Queen Tatiana at once!"

"NO!" Rose shrieked, breaking away from her mother's embrace and standing in front of me. Vasilisa joined her, flanking my back, as the guardians standing in the audience chamber approached us. "Stay back from him! He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Listen to Rose!" Vasilisa shouted, and the guardians all immediately backed off, while still keeping a loose ring around us.

"Rosemarie. What in the Devil's name has been going on?" Abe demanded, his dark eyes flashing. "I am pleased to see that you are alive. But why have you brought our family's most hated enemy into our home? And what reason do we have for not delivering him into Queen Tatiana's hands, or even better, killing him on the spot now?"

"I…I love him," Rose said. "You can't kill him now. He's my husband."

A thrill ran through me at the word husband.

Janine clapped her hands over her mouth, looking shocked. "You…you two got married? But when…"

"Shortly before I 'died,'" Rose said, her voice strong and unwavering.

"Why would you marry the Belikov prince?" Abe demanded, his voice cold. "And you have absolutely no proof of this… 'marriage.'"

"I have our wedding certificate," I said, reaching into a pouch on my belt. I pulled it out and handed it to Rose. I was sure that if I were to walk to Abe with our wedding certificate, he would snap my arm in two.

She quickly handed it over to Janine, who loosened the ties and read through it. "It looks like it's a legitimate wedding certificate, Ibrahim," she said, handing the precious document over to Abe.

He was eyeing me coolly but accepted the certificate and read through it. A few moments later, he looked up, his face expressionless, and handed it over to Janine. "This…this…"

"I love Dimitri, not Adrian," Rose said. "That's why I married him. That's why I pretended to be dead. And before you object to a love marriage, what about you and Mother?"

Abe exchanged a look with Janine that was almost tender. But his expression hardened when he turned back to Rose. "You have the wedding certificate as proof that you and Belikov are married. But you haven't yet consummated your vows, have you?"

"Father…we have consummated our vows. We are truly husband and wife," Rose said in a small voice, but she slipped her arm through mine.

At that, Abe become enraged. "WHAT?"

"We had to make sure there was no way anyone would try to declare our marriage invalid!" Rose said, her eyes flashing.

"I'll kill you!" Abe bellowed at me. "For deflowering my daughter! I don't care if you're married! You're our enemy! You've completely ruined Rosemarie! She was meant to marry Adrian Ivashkov and now-"

He lunged at me, but Rose quickly stepped in front of me and Janine grabbed Abe's arms from behind. I was utterly grateful that Janine had been a guardian prior to her marriage with Abe. Her training had come in good use. I wasn't sure if I would've been able to defend myself from Abe, despite having undergone guardian training myself. Especially since Abe was livid at learning that Rose and I had consummated our marriage.

Thankfully, Vasilisa stepped in. She locked eyes with Abe and said soothingly, "Listen to Rose. Think of both what you want, and reconcile it with what Rose wants."

I shivered a little as I felt the thrall of Vasilisa's words. She was using a little compulsion, which was an ability all Moroi had. Compulsion was the ability to force someone's will on someone else. Laws were in place to prevent Moroi from using compulsion, and those breaking the law would be severely punished.

Abe's eyes had become slightly unfocused. "What I want…? I want my family to unite with the Ivashkovs against the Belikovs. I don't want Rose to be married to Dimitri – I want her married to Adrian Ivashkov." Would even Vasilisa's compulsion be enough to convince him to help us?

"I know that's what you want," Vasilisa said soothingly. "But what about Rose? Yes, all her life you've trained her to be the Mazur princess, so that she'll take your place when you're dead. I know you want the Mazur bloodline to continue on. But look at Dimitri Belikov. He's also a prince, from an esteemed royal bloodline. He's wealthy and has high status and an excellent reputation."

"What's more…Dimitri loves Rose," Janine put in unexpectedly. I felt a flare of hope. Was it possible that she could help Abe gradually accept my marriage with Roza? "He's not like Adrian Ivashkov. Dimitri will look after our daughter when we are dead. We both want her to marry a prince."

Abe turned his head to look into Janine's eyes. "But what of the feud?" he asked softly. "The feud that stretches back to…well, for as long as anyone has remembered?"

"I think it only started when the Mazurs moved from Turkey to Russia a few centuries ago," Janine replied. "Leave the feud in the past where it belongs, Ibrahim. It stretches far back beyond any living person's memory. The rift between the Mazurs and Belikovs should be healed at last."

Vasilisa finally spoke up. "The feud did start when the Mazurs moved to Russia. Exactly what caused it, I haven't found. But I suspect that a misunderstanding about love was the cause."

Startled, I looked at my Roza. Her eyes were wide too. The rift between our families might've been caused by a misunderstanding about love? Now that was interesting.

Abe let out a long breath. "I still don't see why I should approve of this…marriage between our daughter and Belikov," he said, but he didn't sound as venomous as before.

"Have you forgotten about everything we had to go through to get married?" Janine suddenly asked.

When Abe Mazur had announced his intention to marry Janine Hathaway, a lowly guardian, all of the Moroi world was shocked. Most Moroi royals married other Moroi to keep their bloodlines pure, even though some married for love and a few even married dhampirs. But the dhampirs whom the Moroi married were usually of high standing. For Abe to marry for love – and a guardian, at that – was almost unheard of.

I'd been a child at the time, but I remember my own father talking about how scandalous it was and some details. Abe's father had almost disowned him before Abe had given him an ultimatum – either he could accept the marriage, or disown Abe and let his little sister become the Mazur princess. Abe's father was well-known for believing that women were incompetent of ruling so he had very reluctantly given his blessing to Abe's and Janine's marriage.

Abe sighed again and turned to me and Roza. "I don't approve of this match at all," he muttered. "But I'll say this much – Belikov appears to have more strength of character compared to Adrian Ivashkov."

I suppose that was the highest praise I could get from him. And frankly, I would take that.

"Don't think that I will accept this so easily," Abe warned, his eyes on me. "I think we should go out for a hunt sometime, Belikov. And we'll be having a little chat in the woods. I'll have lots of questions…lots of things to say…"

Rose looked absolutely horrified and turned to her mother, a clear plea in her eyes. I wanted to reassure Roza, but I wasn't sure what I could say that would help.

"I think I'd be interested in coming along too," Janine said lightly. "I might have some questions too."

To say that Rose looked aghast was an understatement. "Father! If you lay a hand on my husband-"

"I won't harm him," Abe assured her. _I really would like to come back with my kneecaps intact_, I thought to myself. "I just want to talk to him a little."

At that, Rose groaned and sank to the floor. "More like humiliate him."

"Roza, we have more problems than whether your father hurts me or not," I said to her, gently pulling her back up. "Such as how we will get Queen Tatiana to issue me a pardon. And how to announce our marriage to the rest of society."

"Queen Tatiana isn't at all pleased with you injuring her grandnephew," Abe said to me. "Speaking of which…why did you get in a brawl with him in the first place?"

Now _that_ was going to be a touchy point. I sighed. "Roza – I mean Rose – and I had just gotten married and we were separated for the time being. I went to a tavern, and then Adrian Ivashkov entered with some friends. A few were speaking quite crudely about Rose and what would occur on their wedding night, and Adrian joined in. I…lost my temper and punched Adrian."

Abe's eyes narrowed and barked out what sounded like curse words in Turkish. "Who was with Adrian?"

"Jesse Zeklos, for sure. The others…I'm not so sure about." I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the faces of the others with Adrian Ivashkov. "I think Lars Zeklos and Brent Badica might've been among them."

Abe turned and strode back to his throne, Janine following behind. He sat and tapped his fingers against one of the armrests, looking deep in thought.

I exchanged a look with Rose. _What exactly is he thinking?_ I wondered. I hoped it involved roughing up those royals who might've been with Adrian that had spoken so rudely about my Roza.

"First off, explain something Rose said earlier. Something about pretending to be dead. What exactly did she mean by that?"

Rose explained, "You were intent on wedding me off to Adrian in just a few days. I…well, I was already married to Dimitri. I wanted to tell you, but you told me that if I were to disobey you, you would disown me. I talked to the friar who married us, and he gave me a potion that would make me appear dead for a few nights. Dimitri would come back for me, and we would explain everything to everyone."

I noticed that Rose had carefully left out how I'd almost committed suicide when I'd thought she was dead. It was probably just as well…

Abe closed his eyes for a moment before focusing on me. "If you hurt my daughter or cheat on her, you are dead," he warned me.

I looked at him and said steadily, "I have no intention of hurting Rose. She's the only one I will ever love."

"Your actions will prove that one way or another," Abe muttered. "Fine. Rose and I will think of how to have the Queen pardon you. Or at least convincing her to have a fair trial."


End file.
